LOCALIZE IT: Moms for Liberty expands efforts to take over school boards, other education posts

Election 2024 Moms for Liberty (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled extremist for its attacks on inclusion in schools, is looking to take over more school boards and get involved in other education races in 2024 and beyond. The effort is setting up a clash with teachers unions and others on the left who view the group as a toxic presence in public schools.

The group’s co-founder, Tiffany Justice, said during its annual summit in Philadelphia that Moms for Liberty will use its political action committee next year to engage in school board races nationwide. It also will “start endorsing at the state board level and elected superintendents.”

Her comments confirm that Moms for Liberty, which has spent its first two years inflaming school board meetings with aggressive complaints about instruction on systemic racism and gender identity in the classroom, is developing a larger strategy to overhaul education infrastructure across the country.

So far, the group has had mixed success at getting its preferred candidates elected. In 2022, slightly more than half of the 500 school board candidates it endorsed across the country won. In the spring of 2023, fewer than one-third of the nearly 30 candidates it endorsed in Wisconsin were elected.

The group's close partnerships with powerful conservative organizations and lawmakers have helped it grow. But it will also likely face pushback from a building counter-movement made up of teachers unions, grassroots activists and parents who oppose its vision of public education.

Here's a look at Moms for Liberty's background and some possible reporting pathways to explore.

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FIND AP’S COVERAGE HERE:

— Moms for Liberty’s focus on school races nationwide sets up political clash with teachers unions

— Moms for Liberty chapter apologizes for quoting Hitler in its newsletter

— Trump and DeSantis court Moms for Liberty in a sign of the group’s rising influence over the GOP

— Moms for Liberty rises as power player in GOP politics after attacking schools over gender, race

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WHERE DOES THE GROUP OPERATE?

Since starting in Florida in 2021, Moms for Liberty has set up a national network, today claiming 285 chapters in 45 states.

The group hasn't responded to inquiries for an up-to-date chapter list, but here are the counties in each state where it has chapters, according to its website:

Alabama: Madison, Shelby

Alaska: Matanuska-Susitna

Arizona: Pima

Arkansas: Benton, Craighead, Lonoke, Pulaski, Washington

California: Alameda, Colusa, Contra Costa, Lake, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta, Yolo

Colorado: Boulder, El Paso, Garfield, Larimer, Weld

Connecticut: Hartford, Fairfield

Delaware: New Castle

Florida: Alachua, Bay, Brevard, Broward, Clay, Collier, Duval, Flagler, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Volusia, Walton

Georgia: Hall, Oconee

Hawaii: Honolulu

Illinois: Cook, DuPage, Henry, Lake

Indiana: Allen, Cass, Hamilton, Howard, La Porte, Tipton, Warrick

Iowa: Carroll, Dallas, Linn, Polk, Story, Warren

Kansas: Johnson

Kentucky: Jefferson

Louisiana: East Baton Rouge

Maryland: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Talbot

Massachusetts: Middlesex, Plymouth

Michigan: Branch, Clinton, Grand Traverse, Isabella, Kent, Livingston, Macomb, Midland, Monroe, Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne

Minnesota: Dakota, Olmsted, Otter Tail, Scott, St. Louis, Wright

Mississippi: Madison

Missouri: Greene, Jackson, St. Charles, St. Louis

Montana: Yellowstone

Nebraska: Douglas

New Hampshire: Hillsborough, Rockingham

New Jersey: Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Mercer, Morris, Ocean

New Mexico: Bernalillo

New York: Duchess, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Schenectady, Suffolk, Wayne, Westchester

North Carolina: Alexander, Bladen, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Chatham, Forsyth, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Stanly, Transylvania, Union, Wake, Wilson

North Dakota: Williams

Ohio: Delaware, Franklin, Hamilton, Lake, Madison, Medina, Stark, Summit, Wood

Oklahoma: Canadian, Garfield, Tulsa

Oregon: Deschutes, Douglas

Pennsylvania: Adams, Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Franklin, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, McKean, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Snyder, Union, Washington, Westmoreland, York

South Carolina: Anderson, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, Marlboro, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, York

South Dakota: Hughes, Minnehaha, Pennington

Tennessee: Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Shelby, Sumner, Williamson, Wilson

Texas: Bexar, Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, Gillespie, Kendall, Nueces, San Patricio, Travis, Williamson

Virginia: Bedford, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Montgomery, Prince William, Roanoke, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren

Washington: Benton, Chelan, Douglas, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Whitman, Yakima

Wisconsin: Kenosha, Marathon, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Polk, Rock, St. Croix, Vilas, Washington, Winnebago, Wood

Wyoming: Laramie, Natrona, Sweetwater

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PUBLISHABLE CONTEXT:

Moms for Liberty pitches itself as a nonpartisan, grassroots effort started by passionate parents who call themselves “joyful warriors.” Yet the group’s close ties to Republican organizations, donors and politicians raise questions about partisanship and doubts over how grassroots it really is.

Co-founder Bridget Ziegler, who stepped down from the board in late 2021 but spoke at the group’s summit, is married to the chairman of the Florida Republican Party. Still a school board member in Sarasota County, she also is a director at the Leadership Institute, a conservative organization that says it has trained thousands of Moms for Liberty members.

Marie Rogerson, who took Ziegler’s place on the Moms for Liberty board, is an experienced political strategist who had previously managed the 2018 campaign of Florida state Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican.

The group has also gained a close ally in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was presented with a “liberty sword” at the group’s first annual meeting last year and has signed multiple bills that it supported.

And though the group is a 501(c)4 nonprofit that doesn’t have to disclose its donors, there are other glimpses of how powerful Republicans have helped fuel its rise.

Its summit sponsors, which paid tens of thousands of dollars for those slots, included the Leadership Institute, the conservative Heritage Foundation and Patriot Mobile, a far-right Christian cellphone company whose PAC has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in an effort to take over Texas school boards.

Moms for Liberty’s Florida-based PAC also has received a $50,000 donation from Julie Fancelli, a Republican donor whose family owns Publix grocery stores and who helped fund Trump’s Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally, according to House Jan. 6 committee findings. Fancelli didn't respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, the group’s chapters across the country have been criticized for incidents including publishing an Adolf Hitler quote in its newsletter before apologizing and removing it, and complaining about lessons on Black civil rights figures Martin Luther King Jr. and Ruby Bridges.

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CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:

— What upcoming school board, superintendent, state board of education or state superintendent elections are happening in your area? Is Moms for Liberty endorsing or helping to fund any of the candidates?

— Who are the leaders of the local Moms for Liberty chapter in your area? Do they associate with any other groups? Some Moms for Liberty members across the country have been accused of coordinating with extremist militias or hate groups. Do the social media accounts of the Moms for Liberty leaders in your area reveal any such connections?

— Who are the Moms for Liberty chapters in your area inviting to speak at their events? Do they have a certain political leaning or agenda? Do they have extreme views or rhetoric?

— What is your local Moms for Liberty chapter saying or advertising to its members? Does the chapter have a public newsletter?

— Are there any relevant police records worth requesting? Have any Moms for Liberty members been accused of harassment in your area?

— What kinds of policy changes are Moms for Liberty members advocating at your local school board meetings? Do any of their efforts attack curriculum mentioning systemic racism or gender identity? Are they trying to remove accommodations for transgender students in schools?

— Which local activists are advocating against Moms for Liberty? Many grassroots groups have mobilized nationwide to combat Moms for Liberty's work, including STOP Moms for Liberty, Defense of Democracy, New Jersey Public Education Coalition, Illinois Families for Public Schools, Act UP, Loudoun 4 All, Students Protecting Education and more.

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FOLLOW THE MONEY:

— Moms for Liberty is a 501(c)4 nonprofit, and many of its local chapters also have filed as nonprofits with the IRS. Search for Moms for Liberty on the IRS website to find your local chapter. Accessing its 990 forms can give you more information about the group and its financials.

— At least three federal political action committees and one state political action committee bear the name Moms for Liberty, and can fundraise for political candidates. They include Moms for Liberty Action, Moms for Liberty Inc. Political Victory Fund, Moms for Liberty PAC and Moms for Liberty Florida. Check campaign finance records to see who is donating to the group and which candidates it is supporting.

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RELATED AP COVERAGE

Conservative PACs inject millions into local school races

Hostile school board meetings have members calling it quits

Tears, politics and money: School boards become battle zones

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Localize It is an occasional feature produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org.